Newspapers at a news agent shop cover the death of former prime minister Lady Thatcher on April 9. / Peter Macdiarmid, Getty

by Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY

by Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY

LONDON -- The British government on Tuesday said that Lady Margaret Thatcher will receive a ceremonial funeral with military honors on April 17 at St. Paul's Cathedral.

The funeral "will be a mix of the public and the private" and a "wide and diverse range of people and groups with connections to Lady Thatcher will be invited," the government said.

A private cremation will follow the service.

Buckingham Palace said the queen and duke of Edinburgh would attend the funeral. Many world leaders and dignitaries are also expected to attend.

The service will be televised and on the day of the funeral, a Wednesday, Thatcher's coffin will move in procession from the Palace of Westminster to St. Paul's, effectively tracing a line along the River Thames in central London.

The service will be of a similar kind afforded to Princess Diana and the Queen Mother, the mother of Queen Elizabeth.

It will not be a state funeral, which is normally reserved for members of the royal family.

The last state funeral held in the United Kingdom was in 1965 following the death of Sir Winston Churchill.

Thatcher, 87, died Monday following a stroke while staying at the Ritz hotel in London. She had been suffering ill-health for some time. Her body was moved late last night to an undisclosed location.

On Monday night, as tributes flowed in from around the world, including from President Obama, who said the world had lost "one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend," there were also reports of low-level disturbances around the country.

In Glasgow and London, the BBC reported that several small gatherings of protesters were celebrating Thatcher's death. And in the south-western city of Bristol several police officers were said to be injured when violence broke out.

Thatcher was prime minister from 1979 to 1990 and during her three consecutive terms she inspired enmity and adoration alike.

She was revered for standing up to communism and other triumphs on the world stage but remained a divisive figure on the home front in large part for her commitment to revamping Great Britain's welfare state and liberalizing its financial markets.

On Wednesday, a special session of Parliament is being recalled so that members can debate Thatcher's legacy.